Emergency declared for central Kan. wildfires

Wednesday

Gov. Sam Brownback issued Wednesday an emergency declaration for a handful of central Kansas counties in response to wildfires.

The governor made the declaration at 5:03 p.m. for Barton, Ellis, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, Phillips, Rooks and Russell.

In a news release, the adjutant general’s office said hot and dry conditions have contributed to numerous fires across Kansas, prompting the partial activation of the State Emergency Operations Center in Topeka.

"We can see what this hot, dry weather is doing to firefighting efforts in Colorado and other states," said Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, the adjutant general. "We want to make sure we stay ahead of the curve and be ready to render assistance to our county emergency management partners if needed."

Several state agencies are at the SEOC to keep in contact with county emergency managers and to monitor the fires.

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